Thread: The razor that I would like to obtain.

It is surprising what constitutes a great razor. I recently bought a razor from a broken up 7 day set for $60 and it is an amazing razor! It is a 6/8 that is so hollow that you can hear the water hitting the blade under the tap. Very strange but it shaves very well so price is not always an indicator of quality. I will say this though. One can not buy a brand new razor for $60 and expect any real quality. That is where, this and other, forums come into play. Guys offer vintage razors at a price that can not be matched by a present day vendor and there are some fantastic razors being offered. I, recently, could not pass up a Kobar High Class - 9/16, near NOS, from PapaBear for the very reasonable price of $80. I bet it will be a superb shaver. One has to be patient but SRP's BST section offers razors that are world class and second to none.

The two finest razors that I have are a Robert Williams 1/4 grind with a French toe and a B&B LE 1/4 Le Grelot. What makes these razors special? The hone up extremely well, hold a very keen edge and both are a pleasure to strop. When I say that they hone up well it is like they had "eyes", a groove if you will. Perfect edge every time I put them to the stone with almost no effort, I love that. That is why they are standards for any other razors or hones that I obtain.

Oh NO! Ramblings....coming on! One thing that I have noticed of late is that all my finest razors have a steel that is very homogenous and just the right temper. I use a 30X loupe when I first put a blade to the stones so that I can see if there are any imperfections on the entire length of the blade. To get a smooth shave every part of the edge must near perfection. For a very long time I could not figure out why a perfectly good razor would give a really good shave but give just a tinge of razor burn, only on certain parts of my face. When looking at the edge with a loupe I would see a small section of the edge that did not look right...rough. Upon re-honing the problem went away but they always are just a tad to delicate and I am always fighting the edge. They shave well but are just more work, I don't like more work!

Hope this helps with the hunt.

Take Care,
Richard